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The Wild Westerners in High Definition

I just learned that The Wild Westerners will be airing in high definition on the Sony Movie Channel on April 12 and April 16. This may mean that Sony/Columbia has improved the color and overall picture quality. The versions I've seen on TV have been rather washed out, a chronic problem with films that were shot in Eastmancolor.

It isn't true high definition. It's an upconversion from standard definition. Still, the colors are more vivid and it has better contrast than I've seen when it has aired on the Western Channel, so Sony has done some work on it.

During the barroom brawl scene you can slow it down and see that Duane goes reeling from a punch that misses him by six inches! But it's not noticeable at regular speed.

The location filming was done at Alabama Hills in Lone Pine and at the Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth.

Yes I have a copy of this Deed. It features stills from the film with attached dialogue boxes - about 12 to a page from memory. I tried to up-load a few of the scans to the GP a few months ago but that failed (maybe the scan image exceeded the limit??) but I'll try again in a few days when I get back to Sheffield.

The Wild Westerners lobby card. With Duane from left to right are Bob Steele, Harry Lauter, James Philbrook and Nancy Kovack. Steele and Lauter were two of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood, with nearly 600 film and television credits between them.

With " The Wild Westerner " I wonder if Duane was in the recording studio with Bob Thompson and the Orchestra ? - Or whether the orchestral bits were overdubbed ? - If they were all together, that would have been a great photo opportunity !

It's nearly impossible to find a good print of old movies. The more film is run, the worse it's condition becomes. Every time it's run, the light from the projector washes out the print. Projectors and film are often run without cleaning, resulting in visible scratches and wear, and even the best sound quality on old films isn't all that great compared to HD. Thankfully, with digital editing, the film can be restored to nearly original condition, and the sound can be enhanced as well. It'll never be the same as a pristine, first run print, but, it'll be far better than most rerun film.

With " The Wild Westerner " I wonder if Duane was in the recording studio with Bob Thompson and the Orchestra ? - Or whether the orchestral bits were overdubbed ? - If they were all together, that would have been a great photo opportunity !

– lesdk

The sessions info that I have says that it was recorded in Hollywood in one day, on May 10 1962. The Ballad of Paladin and Stretchin' Out also were recorded in that session. Notable musicians who were there that day include Barney Kessel, Bill Pitman, Jimmy Bond, Earl Palmer, and Plas Johnson. There were seven violinists in the strings section.

The movie version was recorded separately at the Columbia Pictures sound stage. It's unclear which version was recorded first.